BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - MAY 01: Gleyber Torres #25 of the New York Yankees warms up before playing ... [+]
The New York Yankees still have as many wins as any team in baseball, currently sitting at the top of the American League East division. But an enduring losing streak, including a painful Subway Series against the crosstown New York Mets that saw them give up 21 runs in two games, has raised some questions about what changes the team can make to fortify their World Series chances.
“They’ve lost five of their past six series and four in a row,” Deesha Thosar wrote of the Yankees for FOX Sports. “Key injuries are piling up. Underperformance from the lineup, though some of it was expected, is making for far too many automatic outs.”
Manager Aaron Boone attempted to address that underperformance when he benched two-time All-Star second baseman Gleyber Torres amid a season-long hitting slump, fielding issues and a high-profile lack of effort.
“I think it’s hopefully something that will serve him well, mentally and physically, to just take an exhale and work to get him rolling,” Boone said of his decision to move Torres to the bench. “When he’s going like we’ve all seen him go, he’s a really important piece to the lineup.”
Torres has slashed .215/.294/.333 with 62 hits and 78 strikeouts so far this season, a far cry from his .273/.347/.453 slash line last season. Perhaps more concerning is his .960 fielding percentage at second base and the 12 errors that give him the second-most in all of MLB.
The struggles come at a pivotal time for Torres and the Yankees. The team still has a chance to tweak its personnel ahead of next month’s trade deadline and fortify the weaknesses that might keep them from realizing the championship expectations set by an American-League-leading $307 million payroll. Plus, Torres is playing on a one-year, $14.2 million deal before becoming a free agent at the end of the season.
That timing has pushed some to call for more drastic action from general manager Brian Cashman.
“But if Cashman truly wants to make Boone’s life easier, he could dump Torres by the July trading deadline, if not sooner,” urged Newark Star-Ledger columnist Bob Klapsich. “That would send the strongest-possible message of ownership’s support for the manager. It will also let the players know a housecleaning is coming this off-season if the current slide continues.”
Indeed, given Torres’ resume, current salary and the lack of alternatives, Boone might have little choice but to reinsert Torres in the lineup and hope he can improve on defense after a brief break on the bench. In his absence, the Yankees went with Oswaldo Cabrera at second base, who has been serviceable as a back-end hitter. But third baseman DJ LeMahieu and infield backups Oswald Peraza and Jon Berti haven’t offered much more than Torres in support of sluggers Aaron Judge and Juan Soto. Rookie Ben Rice is filling in for an injured Anthony Rizzo at first base. The team recently added veteran infielder J.D. Davis, but he’s likely to be a platoon option at best. All told, the infield is a stark weakness, outside of shortstop Anthony Volpe.
Making an additional roster move that adds an impact infielder could give Boone some real options to improve the lineup. And it could see the team move on permanently from Torres months before his free agency.
“The Yankees could trade Torres for prospects and then flip those players for, say, Padres infielder Ha-Seong Kim, or Reds second baseman Jonathan India,” Thosar suggested. “Regardless of what the Yankees decide to do with Torres, whose name is annually floated in trade rumors, the second baseman’s skimpy offensive output is costing him millions in his next contract, regardless of if he’s traded before August.”